What is one essential feature you look for when evaluating or upgrading your HRIS? Why is this feature crucial for your HR operations?

A robust employee self service (ESS) is a must for any HRIS. Its gone from a nice to have to a requirement. To further this, it must be robust- it has to go beyond the basics of changing your address and viewing your paystub. We are in an age of on demand data, which means employees are looking to access their pay stubs, benefits information, handbooks, etc whenever they'd like. When an ESS is built right, it will also help alleviate manual processes for the HR team-goodbye paper benefit enrollment forms and keying in deductions! I should also mention that a quality ESS can also act as a central point for employees to submit questions, take trainings, receive important notifications, and troubleshoot problems. You will find 95% of HRIS platforms offer an ESS, but vetting this product and its capabilities is something not to overlook.

Easy integration with other technologies we employ, such as applicant tracking systems, payroll, and performance management software, is one important requirement I look for when evaluating or replacing our HRIS. And it is critical because interoperability eliminates data silos, reduces the risk of manual entry mistakes, and gives a more complete overall view of HR metrics to inform better decisions.

When evaluating or upgrading my HRIS, one essential feature I look for is robust reporting and analytics capabilities. I need a system that can easily generate detailed, real-time reports on everything from employee performance to payroll and compliance. This feature is crucial because it allows me to make data-driven decisions quickly, which is especially important when managing a growing team or navigating complex HR issues. For example, during a recent audit, the reporting function of our HRIS helped us identify and resolve discrepancies in payroll across departments before they became a bigger issue. Having that data at my fingertips not only saved time but ensured we remained compliant with labor laws. This capability is indispensable for maintaining efficiency and staying proactive in HR operations.

Employee wellness tracking and benefits administration integration is absolutely crucial—but not for the reasons most HR departments think. In Direct Primary Care practices, we've discovered that the best HRIS systems help us monitor team burnout, track time-off patterns, and identify stress indicators before they become retention problems. Traditional healthcare benefits are expensive and ineffective, so we need systems that can seamlessly manage DPC memberships for our own staff alongside conventional benefits. The feature I prioritize most: comprehensive reporting that shows the real cost and utilization of different benefit options, because transparency drives better decision-making. When our team can see that their DPC membership costs less than insurance copays while delivering better care, they become advocates for the model. The best HRIS systems support innovative benefit structures rather than forcing you into outdated insurance-centric frameworks. This matters because healthy, satisfied employees provide better patient care and stay with practices longer. That's how care is brought back to patients.

The most essential HRIS feature I look for is seamless employee self-service capabilities that actually work intuitively—much like how Direct Primary Care prioritizes patient portals that patients can navigate without calling for help. When employees can easily update their information, request time off, and access their benefits without jumping through hoops, it reduces administrative friction for everyone involved. This mirrors the DPC approach: remove barriers between people and the services they need rather than creating more bureaucracy. I've seen too many HRIS systems that require three clicks to do what should take one, similar to how traditional healthcare makes simple tasks unnecessarily complex. The key is choosing systems that prioritize user experience over feature bloat, because the best technology disappears into the background and lets people focus on meaningful work. When your HR technology serves employees as seamlessly as DPC serves patients, engagement and satisfaction naturally follow. That's how care is brought back to patients.

One important feature I always look for when evaluating or upgrading our HRIS is the ability to customize reporting and analytics. At Estorytellers, with our growing and distributed teams, we need real-time, actionable insights into everything—from employee engagement and attrition to onboarding efficiency. This feature is useful because HR today is not just about operations; it's about strategy. Custom reports enable me to make faster, data-driven decisions regarding hiring, training, and resource planning. For example, we once noticed a trend in early exits from one team. Custom analytics helped pinpoint gaps in onboarding and culture fit—something we fixed immediately. If you're upgrading your HRIS, make sure it actually helps you to read between the numbers. That's where real improvements begin.